Flowery and funny self-help from the turn of the (last) century, this little book was an uncanny, spot-on description of my daily routine and how I ofFlowery and funny self-help from the turn of the (last) century, this little book was an uncanny, spot-on description of my daily routine and how I often think of it. It was slightly shocking to hear my modern quotidian hang-ups called out by a guy addressing "clerks" in a time of 36-cent round-trip train tickets, since I tend to think of them as my personal hang-ups. As in, they're my cross to bear and no one else could possibly understand, yadda yadda yadda.

It was pleasantly deflating to be shown in no uncertain terms that my problems weren't new.

Some of my favorite quotes:

"I will continue to chat with my companions in distress—that innumerable band of souls who are haunted, more or less painfully, by the feeling that the years slip by, and slip by, and slip by, and that they have not yet been able to get their lives into proper working order."

"But he will not be tormented in the same way as the man who, desiring to reach Mecca, and harried by the desire to reach Mecca, never leaves Brixton."

"[Our aspiration] springs from a fixed idea that we ought to do something in addition to those things which we are loyally and morally obliged to do."

"Until an effort is made to satisfy that wish [to do something more], the sense of uneasy waiting for something to start which has not started will remain to disturb the peace of the soul."

"There is no magic method of beginning. If a man standing on the edge of a swimming-bath and wanting to jump into the cold water should ask you, 'How do I begin to jump?' you would merely reply, 'Just jump. Take hold of your nerves and jump.'"

"[Ardour] is eager to move mountains and divert the course of rivers. It isn't content till it perspires. And then, too often, when it feels the perspiration on its brow, it wearies all of a sudden and dies, without even putting itself to the trouble of saying, 'I've had enough of this.'"

"A failure or so, in itself, would not matter, if it did not incur a loss of self-esteem and of self-confidence."

"In the cultivation of the mind one of the most important factors is precisely the feeling of strain, of difficulty, of a task which one part of you is anxious to achieve and another part of you is anxious to shirk."

The quality of these stories varied widely. Many perplexing occurrences were evidently well-documented (as in, they made the papers) and spooky, but aThe quality of these stories varied widely. Many perplexing occurrences were evidently well-documented (as in, they made the papers) and spooky, but a large portion were little more than "Jane Doe recalls a story her Grandmother used to tell about the old house on the hill..."

Then again, I wasn't looking for anything deep here, just a little local color....more

Here's a hodge podge of reflective observations, Amazon.com corporate history, and strange personal anecdotes, many approaching TMI territory. As longHere's a hodge podge of reflective observations, Amazon.com corporate history, and strange personal anecdotes, many approaching TMI territory. As long-form casual writing, this book is uneven and its style distracting. As an exposé or true history of Amazon.com, its corporate culture, well-known CEO, or his metrics-driven management, this book is little better than that story you heard about the guy who wrote that blog—you know, he was on NPR, talking about that thing—and feels about as authoritative.

I don't have a problem with Kalpanik's insights or personal impressions (full disclosure: I work for Amazon.com); I'm just not sure what to do with them. They don't rise to the level of investigative journalism, but neither are they a compelling memoir, even though I can relate to a lot of the details. What better illustrates this than my glacial progress through this slim volume? It took a long time to read because Kalpanik couldn't hold my interest.

This was a CreateSpace (self-published) book, and perfectly makes the case for old-school publishing. Sure, publishers may sometimes stand in the way of a refreshing outlook or stifle the little guy's unique creativity, but that would have saved me some time in this case....more

Came to this with no knowledge of the Chicago World Fair, Frederick Law Olmstead's contribution to it, or H.H. Holmes' "murderous hotel" located nearbCame to this with no knowledge of the Chicago World Fair, Frederick Law Olmstead's contribution to it, or H.H. Holmes' "murderous hotel" located nearby. All were interesting topics, even if they seemed a bit mashed together.

Wish it had included a few more illustrations of the White City, but I guess that's what Google is for....more

The wide margins and short chapters of this thin volume are important physical features Bauby's memoir. They're a constant reminder that every word, eThe wide margins and short chapters of this thin volume are important physical features Bauby's memoir. They're a constant reminder that every word, every letter came at a very high cost. It's impossible to forget, if a passage seems short, that it had to be dictated one letter at a time, using an amazingly laborious process called partner-assisted scanning—an interlocutor recites the alphabet until the "speaker" indicates the correct letter has been reached, at which point the letter is copied down.

It amazes me that Bauby was able to compose and edit each chapter in his head, then dictate it from memory. It's obvious that Bauby absolutely had to write this book, whether or not it was ever published. It's an extended letter to his family and others close to him, and that's how I read it.

A geeky aside, since I'm a tech guy: Bauby didn't describe in detail the scanning method he employed with Claude Mendibil, but it sounds like a simple linear search. Even with the alphabet arranged in decreasing order of frequency, this is still O(n). On average, it looks like you'd have to check ~12 letters before you found the right one.

Searching a Huffman tree, on the other hand, is only O(log n). Mendibil could have held up a chart depicting the alphabet Huffman-encoded into an optimal binary search tree for French (click below for my version), then, starting at the root, pointed to each node. On a blink from Bauby, she would move down to the right, otherwise down to the left. Reaching a leaf would mean a letter had been selected. This would have meant more blinking for Bauby, but almost a 3× increase in dictation speed. On average, you'd only have to check ~4½ letters each time.

Most surprising: The importance of intuition when making big decisions. The emotional metadata provided by the prefrontal cortex can be more helpful tMost surprising: The importance of intuition when making big decisions. The emotional metadata provided by the prefrontal cortex can be more helpful than rational analysis.

Most disgusting: Harry Harlow's primate experiments. What a sick and twisted "researcher."

Somehow this ended up on my phone for free (an Audible promotion?) and I actually listened to it. I've never given Rob Lowe a second thought, but I enSomehow this ended up on my phone for free (an Audible promotion?) and I actually listened to it. I've never given Rob Lowe a second thought, but I enjoyed this more than I expected. He seems pretty down-to-Earth for a super-mega-hunkastar.

Lowe's sordid past isn't even in the same league as, say, Roman Polanski, but it's certainly interesting enough. He mentions his belief that stardom freezes a person's emotional maturity at the moment it happens, and he became a star early.

He owns his early jerk-ness, though. The fact that he got a clue, grew up, and moved on says a lot about him, and I respect a bad boy who ends up happily married for twenty years.

He also does a great Christopher Walken, which I always appreciate....more

Listened to the audio version of this book on the bus and found the reader to be (unintentionally) hilarioScience? Not sure, but it was interesting...

Listened to the audio version of this book on the bus and found the reader to be (unintentionally) hilarious. If he was going for 'constipated narrator of 1950s propaganda films,' he nailed it. I say that with fingers steepled (see figure 49), so there you go....more

I have no plans to write any screenplays, but have always wondered about the process. Snyder's book is an entertaining look behind the scenes, writtenI have no plans to write any screenplays, but have always wondered about the process. Snyder's book is an entertaining look behind the scenes, written as a practical guide to hanging your creativity on a structure that works.

It's tempting to say his approach is formulaic, uninspired, repetitive, mercenary, and soul-crushing; Snyder makes no bones about the fact that he wants your creative masterpiece to SELL (otherwise, what's the point?). He offers specific guidelines that do seem to constitute a formula for a big B.O. (box office) hit, even down to suggesting page numbers for key story elements. Where's the creative joy? Where's the innovation?

These are naive questions. No one complains that every popular song (just about) is in 4/4 time, has 4-6 verses, a chorus, and coda. Familiarity is clearly important to us. Snyder tries to identify the universal elements of the screenplay form, and if there are aspects that feel limiting or constrained, well, that's a framework's job. It provides rails.

I started this book almost by accident, and really wasn't looking forward to the difficult subject matter—even if this memoir eventually turned out toI started this book almost by accident, and really wasn't looking forward to the difficult subject matter—even if this memoir eventually turned out to be uplifting, faith-affirming, inspirational, eye-opening, etc. It was all those things, of course.

Gbowee tells an intensely personal story that feels genuine and unguarded, maybe at the cost of a little polish. She doesn't ignore her own shortcomings; she's not a saint. In this context, though, that just serves to emphasize how extraordinary changes may be effected by ordinary people.

Part II of the book contains the meat of her activist history, and I found it the most engaging. (Part I describes the early experiences critical to her development as a peace worker; Part III is an extended epilogue.)...more

Can't say I loved this book, but I found it interesting—and depressing (I kid, I kid!). Gladwell's premise is essentially, "If you're reasonably smartCan't say I loved this book, but I found it interesting—and depressing (I kid, I kid!). Gladwell's premise is essentially, "If you're reasonably smart or talented, have a good work ethic (possibly inspired by your forebears or culture), and get the opportunity to work really hard, you're on the road to success, baby!"

These aren't exactly world-shaking ideas, although Gladwell (a Canadian) admits that they may generate controversy across the border in the land of rugged individualism. I'm sure he's right, since many Americans may see Outliers as an attack on the idea of the "self-made man," pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, etc. Gladwell talks a lot about chance, which sounds a lot like "luck."

He's not claiming, though, that success is all luck and no hard work. He's saying it's all hard work, but sometimes a chance opportunity is what enables a successful person to work hard. These "opportunities" take many forms, such as parents making sacrifices to secure a good education for their children; a culture that highly values a strong work ethic; a native tongue that expresses some mathematical concept in a particularly clear or succinct way; or simply being born at the right time.

Gladwell argues articulately that if we accept the opportunity to work hard is a key to success (instead of some 1-in-a-million genius or talent), personal success starts to look like something we can foster. He provides lots of entertaining examples and case studies, which he analyses from this point of view.

Ability + hard work + land of opportunity = success. What could be more apple pie?...more

Here's the back-story you never hear on Deadliest Catch, and I found the history fascinating: the birth of the King Crab fishery, its peak 130 million pound harvest in 1980, and its crash down to 30 million, then 3.5 million pounds two years later; the transition from a derby to quota system; and the introduction of the 200-mile exclusion zone. Day-to-day crab fishing is also explained in more depth, but the television show has done a remarkable job of communicating the details.

I appreciated Upton's journalistic, no-nonsense delivery, and couldn't help comparing him to Ernest K. Gann, one of my favorite authors. But where Gann's Fate is the Hunter is a riveting account of his personal dance with death, Upton mostly recounts danger through cautionary anecdotes passed from fisherman to fisherman.

I don't mean to fault Upton for cheating death less dramatically or less often; I enjoyed both books, neither of which was overly sensational. Somehow, though, Gann's was also thrilling....more

Great dramatic photos of some classic planes. There's a bit of historical information included for each plane, but it's usually limited to five or tenGreat dramatic photos of some classic planes. There's a bit of historical information included for each plane, but it's usually limited to five or ten short paragraphs. Would like to have had a little more detail there....more

Turns out that the fascinating man with the fascinating ideas should have used a ghost writer when it came to his memoirs. This collection of serializTurns out that the fascinating man with the fascinating ideas should have used a ghost writer when it came to his memoirs. This collection of serialized articles, written by Tesla long after his commercial successes had come and gone, provide an interesting sketch of the inventor, but they're really too short and too general to stand up as a bona fide autobiography....more

This book will convince you DIY upholstery is a fun, inexpensive way to revitalize that old wing chair. Doing this once will correct that misconceptioThis book will convince you DIY upholstery is a fun, inexpensive way to revitalize that old wing chair. Doing this once will correct that misconception. Still, if your project doesn't turn out, it's you—this book is awesome.

Bonus: somehow the original 1970s full-color pictures haven't been updated. I was horrified but could not look away. Navy velvet armchairs with red piping, I'm talking to you....more